travel_dude

The Oilers are not as good on the PP as they were earlier in the season. Very predictable. Draisaitl on the right circle, doesn't skate. McD curling around looking for a path to the net or one timer from Drai. They were better when he would be the one timer option. I am also comfortable with our PK. The only I don't like is when we allow the player walking in from the blueline about 20 feet of space. Don't respect the pass, respect the shooter. One of the keys is to score early. Get them to activate the D and penalize them for it. They don't backcheck once you hit their D-zone. Just need to watch the neutral zone.

TBH, Marky has had some issues recently. Sutter needs to get him through that crap. Sutter says he has a number of starts that Marky will make. Doesn't know when he will hit it. And would not say what it was. Maybe coincides with us clinching a playoff spot.

Kerins hit 99 then 100 points for the season. And that was 1 period into the game.

It's kinda gross seeing him wearing the Leaf. Looked weird with the hat on earlier. Gio probably looking forward to playing golf in early May in Toronto.

Right, I was thinking former 30 goal scorer. Regarding Mange, he's playing with Toffee and Jarny, which is not the guys that feed you. AT least Jarny isn't ready for that yet. It might do well to have Mange with Tkachuk and Backlund. Top line suffers perhaps, but Mange would get the passes. That puts Toffee with Johnny. Let's see. Which is a better mix? JH-Lindy-Toffee Mange-Backlund-Tkachuk Coleman-Dube-Jarny or JH-Lindy-Tka Mange-Backlund-Toffoli Coleman-Dube-Jarny

I'm 99% sure the one up top is correct.

They could have traded him to us for Monahan, and then promptly put Mony on IR. He would be a good fit there actually.

When your most common linemates are Lucic and Lewis at 5v5, you aren't getting a lot of great passes. A lot of gritty play, just not a lot of quiet space to get a shot from. When he was on the top unit, the play was between Gaudreau, Lindy and Tkachuk. If it works, no need to go elsewhere. Besides, when Monahan was in the slot, his textbook shot wasn't there yet. It's going to take some trial and error to find the right fit for him now. Can't really use him on the top line, except for the odd shift. There would always be some chemistry with Johnny and Lindy. But we really lack secondary playmakers. Mange and Toffoli are more finishers.

He's crushing it. Wonder how they manage to stay below the cap and still get players back for the playoffs. Martinez was back, but poor Patches. Had a setback right when he was getting ready to come back. What bad luck. Probably no Stone until Game 1 of the playoffs, if they can manage to bump EDM out of the top 3. The WC spots aren't looking too promising.

The refs would give us a penalty for interference. McD could trip on a crack and we would get the penalty.

He has gone cold, so they are trying to get him going. I get that, but 3rd line may not be the best fit. I do think that Backlund might be a much better fit. Needs a top C to feed him, as does Toffoli.

The Oilers aren't coming off a loss, so they believe they can beat anyone. Smith talked about that, which I laugh at. He was barely tested by the Sharks. Mde 2 good saves. That is it. We get Kostco, so the old saying GLOVE SIDE HIGH comes to mind. We seem to be lees likely to look for the 5-hole, so that is a good trend. Kotsco the Hutt takes up a lot of the bottom part of the net. I was a little concerned about the 4th line, but there is some speed there and good defensive play. As long as we stay away from pond hockey, we should prevail. We have a better structure and play a really good possession game. They tend to be a score on the rush team, so slow them down.

Monahan looks like a scratch with Ritchie and Vladar and Stone. Think they are still running Lewis at C, which I don't agree with. Carpenter has better faceoff stats. But, being started at C doesn't mean you take all the draws. Markstrom stands a good chance tonight, but at some point he needs games off. As far as the lines go, they are a work in progress. The top line doesn't really need any chance, but nice to have options. I wonder... JH-Lindy-Tka Mange-Backlund-Toffoli Coleman-Dube-Jarny I'm trying to find the best fit for Toffoli. He's tailed off a bit since TDL. Putting him with Backlund gets him into the O-zone. Dube up the middle gives us some options for taking draws. Jarny on the wing gives him less defensive responsibilities and he can start to score.

I haven't seen the usual tables anywhere. The magic number is the one that I have seen. Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg · 13h Magic number update!! #Flames into the single digits. With a 4-2 win over Arizona on Friday, Calgary’s magic number is down to 9.5. CGY wins or VGK/WPG regulation losses drop the number by 1. OT/SO losses on either side by 0.5. At zero, a playoff spot is clinched.

It might be too soon for Monahan, but then again is Carpenter ready. Pretty intense game to come in for. Lewis was fine tonight, except for faceoffs. If you ain't winning them, Sutter has no time for that. Lucic needs to play BOA. That is a certain thing. Ritchie out for Lewis with Carpenter at C. Or Ritchie and Lewis out with Monahan and Carpenter in. Given the fact it's a home game, we can roll the lines as we feel. I'm not concerned with Monahan playing it.

We have to do better than Ritchie against the Oilers.

Linesmen are missing a lot tinight. Offsides not called. Not offsides called. Late waved off icings.

Loooch. Look behind you man!

Waved off

His shot looked a little weaker the next shift, but he's a tough kid.

Right up there with "Go back to the gym".

BOOM. Best.Line.Ever.

Ras finishes the rush. Finally gets rewarded. Stage 4 Complete. Begin Stage 5.

On an unrelated note, I hope we can put a nail in the Oilers season tomorrow night. I would sooner have Vegas sneak in to the 3rd hole and get taken out by LA. Or at the very least, have EDM end up 8th and face COL in round one.